WILMINGTON | In June, Thea Nunez will attempt to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and a destination familiar to English majors everywhere because of a story by Ernest Hemingway.Nunez will not only have to watch her step, she'll also be keeping an eye on her blood sugar level. She'll be the only American in a group of 20 people who all live with Type 1 diabetes. They're scaling the peak to raise money and awareness for JDRF, a nonprofit working to find a cure.Nunez, 36, is a nurse working in the cardiac unit at New Hanover Regional Medical Center."I've always wanted to do it," she said of the arduous climb. "I said I'd better do it now or I won't ever get the chance."I met with Nunez at her apartment. Her mom, Maria Lord, was visiting from Sanibel Island, Fla.Nunez was 6 years old when she was diagnosed. They lived in Fairfax, Va."The doctor thought it was a virus or the flu," Lord recalled. After a bad night, she took young Thea to the hospital, where she lost consciousness in the lab."It was terrifying," Lord said. She was taken to the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where a correct diagnosis was swiftly made."She was the bravest little soldier," Lord said.Nunez blushed a little as her mom told the tale, then talked about what it was like growing up with diabetes."As a kid, it became just a part of my identity," she said.Occasionally her blood sugar would drop. "I would do silly things and my friends got scared," she said.Type 1 diabetes is often diagnosed in children, and it used to be called "juvenile diabetes." In Type 1, the body does not produce insulin. As many as 3 million may have the Type 1 variety, according to JDRF.In middle school, Nunez was taking three or four shots a day. Now she wears an insulin pump. She's careful about her carbs and she avoids foods with glutens.She usually exercises for a half-hour three times a week, but now she's training two hours a day to climb the mountain. This week she was hiking around Mount Mitchell to get in shape.She learned about the JDRF trip on the Web and decided to give it a try."I love the mountains and being outdoors," she said. "I've done some hiking in the Smokies and the Rockies, but never anything like this."OK, now I'm really freaking out," her mom said."Oxygen is the biggest challenge," Nunez continued. "Lots of symptoms of altitude sickness mimic hypoglycemia," or low blood sugar.The trek will be seven days, five days ascending and two days coming back down.Porters will carry some of her belongings in a duffel bag, but Nunez will tote a 15- to 20-pound backpack with dry clothes for various weather conditions, snacks, cameras and the like.Nunez wants people to know that people with Type 1 diabetes can lead normal lives."We can do anything anybody else can do, with accommodations for medications," she said.Nunez has already raised $3,000 for the trip and for JDRF. Visit www.facebook.com/climbtothetopfordiabetes or www.gofundme.com/climbtothetopfordiabetes to donate.There will be a yard sale and bake sale to raise funds starting at 6 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at Brenda's Cafe, 5212 N. College Road in Castle Hayne.Nunez will give 80 percent of what she raises to JDRF to help find a cure."It's the trip of a lifetime," she said. "I think it's worth it. I'll be in debt for several years, but that's all right."

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